On Sat, Jul 25 2009, Lars Wirzenius wrote:
> For example, in the specific case under discussion, the criticism might
> have been expressed something like this instead:
>
> I think this is a bad idea. It creates extra work for
> developers
You are making the assumption that the authors reaction to "Bad"
is less negative than the reaction to "Silly". While this is
subjective, I do not think it is without contention:
Bad possibly has the connotation of malice, or active harm, Silly has
association with harmlessness. (c.f. The Collaborative International
Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide])
I personally would regard either adjective as equally negative,
though I would be driven to either defend my idea or concede it's
silliness, instead of attacking the critic.
I have also seen ideas characterized as "stunningly bad" (hi,
diziet), which seems to be in line with "silly". Negatively
characterizing ideas, and "acceptable" negative adjetives, with all the
subjectivity involved, seems ... strange. Mind you, my "his a silly
idea" phrase was a single clause in a long email detailing why the idea
was, err, suboptimal, so the whole reaction seems somehow overwrought.
Sorry for jumping in again (I had promised to stay off the
thread), but I respect Lars, and I thought he deserved a public
response.
manoj
--
Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like
a great flood does a sleeping village. 47
Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> <http://www.debian.org/~srivasta/>
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